The Apple 2017 iPhone Event Live Blog

12:43PM EDT - Hey all, we're live here at Apple's Steve Jobs theater, inside their new campus

12:45PM EDT - The big announcement today is of course the new iPhone

12:45PM EDT - If you've been watching the rumors, then you likely already have a good idea of what to expect

12:46PM EDT - Apple had a definite leaking problem this year. And according to regular Apple insider John Gruber, it looks like the leaks are inside as well as outside

12:47PM EDT - At any rate, of the things we do know, we don't know if we know everything (an unknown unknown)

12:47PM EDT - So Apple may yet surprise us

12:48PM EDT - Besides the iPhone and the Apple Watch, a big part of Apple's presentation will of course include formally unveiling their new campus

12:49PM EDT - The Steve Jobs theater is set inside a hill towards the edge of the campus

12:49PM EDT - Importantly, it's a lot larger than the theater on Apple's old campus. So the press is less compressed

12:49PM EDT - (Which my legs appreciate)

12:50PM EDT - The WiFi is also looking good, at least so far

12:51PM EDT - There are plenty of Apple base stations... and plenty of people running their own, as well

12:51PM EDT - The event should kick off here at 10am sharp. However with a new venue, Apple may need to be flexible

12:53PM EDT - I'm also told that there's power at most seats. And that it's not working. Apple clearly had to work quickly to get this setup in time

12:53PM EDT - Getting back to the subject at hand, the leaks are pointing to 3 iPhones

12:53PM EDT - iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, and then the iPhone X (Edition)

12:54PM EDT - The 8s would be tradiitonal sized and configured iPhones, while the X is said to be an even larger phone that's almost entirely screen (and with no home button)

12:54PM EDT - I'm also hoping we'll see a new small phone. But that's likely to be more of a mid-cycle announcement

12:55PM EDT - All 3 phones are rumored to use Apple's new A11 SoC

12:55PM EDT - Which is supposed to have, for the first time in Apple's history, a asymmetrical core layout: 2 big cores, 4 small cores

12:56PM EDT - A10, for referenec, had 2 of each, and would move tasks between them. Whereas this sounds like more of a true heterogeneous setup

12:57PM EDT - I am curious to see what Apple does with the big cores. So far they've continued to make good strides, but it's not possible to avoid the practical limits information theory and IPC gains forever

12:58PM EDT - In Apple's corner at least for A11 though is that both Samsung and TSMC have "10nm" processes up and running, TSMCs having been used for the A10X

12:59PM EDT - Suffice it to say, I'm eager to dig into A11 when the time comes

12:59PM EDT - Though unlike Apple's product teams, their core engineering teams seem to do a good job of avoiding leaks, so we may not be able to get too much info

12:59PM EDT - Alright, and here we go

01:02PM EDT - Now on stage: Tim Cook

01:03PM EDT - Tim is starting things off by welcoming us to the Steve Jobs theater, and taking the time to remember Jobs

01:04PM EDT - Apple has never completely moved past Jobs. But at the same time they don't want to. His principles still definite the company

01:05PM EDT - As for the theater and Apple's overall Apple Park campus, those were in the early design stage when he passed away

01:05PM EDT - Jobs of course being instrumental in getting the city of Cupertino to approve the project

01:06PM EDT - So today Tim honors him

01:06PM EDT - Now Tim is taking a moment to talk about the recent hurricanes that have hit the US, Cuba, and the Caribbean

01:07PM EDT - Apple will start moving in to the new campus later this year

01:08PM EDT - Tim is now talking about the new theater and park

01:09PM EDT - Also boasting about the solar installation and the design of the park

01:09PM EDT - A new Apple retail store will go in here as well

01:10PM EDT - Now getting to the meat of the presentation

01:10PM EDT - Starting with an update on the status of Apple's retail initiatives

01:11PM EDT - Discussing the latest design of Apple's stores

01:13PM EDT - Also discussing the various training programs at Apple's stores. Develoeprs, users, teachers, & more

01:14PM EDT - New Apple store position "Creative Pro". The artistic equivalent of the Genius, according to Apple

01:14PM EDT - It's clear Apple wants to be more than a product company. They are increasingly a lifestyle company

01:15PM EDT - What's next?

01:15PM EDT - Apple will continue to open these large format Town Squares in major cities across the globe

01:15PM EDT - And yes, the glass cube will return to the 5th Avenue store in NYC

01:16PM EDT - New Apple store coming to Michigan Ave in Chicago next month

01:17PM EDT - Tim is back on stage

01:17PM EDT - Proud of Apple's retail team

01:17PM EDT - Launch time

01:17PM EDT - First up: Apple Watch

01:18PM EDT - 50% year-over-year growth

01:18PM EDT - Now the best-selling watch in the world

01:19PM EDT - 97% customer satisfaction

01:19PM EDT - Now rolling a customer testimonial video

01:21PM EDT - This video is very fitness focused, which further underscores the strengths of the Watch

01:21PM EDT - Namely, as a fitness tracker (as opposed to a watch or mini-iPhone)

01:22PM EDT - Now on stage: Jeff

01:23PM EDT - Recapping WatchOS 4

01:24PM EDT - First focus is on the heart rate capabilities of the Watch. New measurements in the heart rate application

01:25PM EDT - Apple Watch will now notify you if it detects an elevated rate when you're not active

01:26PM EDT - Final heart rate addition: the Apple Heart Study

01:26PM EDT - Analyze arrhythmia and notify users

01:26PM EDT - WatchOS 4 on September 19th

01:27PM EDT - Now the next generation Apple Watch

01:27PM EDT - Rolling another video

01:28PM EDT - Apple Watch Series 3, with cellular built in

01:28PM EDT - So the Watch is now a more capable stand-alone device

01:28PM EDT - Watch can take calls as well (uses the same number as your iPhone)

01:29PM EDT - Watch Series 3 can also stream music via Apple Music and the Air Pods

01:30PM EDT - New dual core CPU, 70% faster

01:30PM EDT - Siri can now talk on Apple Watch

01:30PM EDT - Apple is calling the WiFi radio W2

01:30PM EDT - Excuse me, the overall SoAC

01:31PM EDT - The display frame itself is the antenna, both for UMTS and LTE

01:31PM EDT - Integrated SIM

01:32PM EDT - Device size has not increased versus Series 2

01:32PM EDT - Other than the back crystal, apparently. Which is 0.25mm farther out

01:33PM EDT - Demo time

01:34PM EDT - "Going Rogue"

01:35PM EDT - The mic on the watch is able to pick up voices a couple of feet away

01:35PM EDT - Demo was someone paddle boarding while on the call

01:35PM EDT - Now discussing colors and bands

01:37PM EDT - S3 Cellular: $399. S3 non -cellular: $329. Series 1: $249

01:37PM EDT - Orders begin September 15th, availability September 22nd

01:37PM EDT - Back to Tim

01:38PM EDT - Rolling a new Watch Series 3 ad

01:39PM EDT - Next up: Apple TV

01:40PM EDT - Recapping Apple TV so far, and Apple's recent technical Emmy win

01:41PM EDT - Introducing Apple TV 4K

01:41PM EDT - Now on stage: eddie

01:42PM EDT - Eddie is now discussing the major advancements of the new unit

01:42PM EDT - 4K and HDR support

01:42PM EDT - HDR side-by-side (on a projector that doesn't support HDR, I imagine)

01:42PM EDT - Oh, I take that back

01:42PM EDT - They have a Dolby HDR projector

01:43PM EDT - Apple TV UI has been redone in 4K

01:45PM EDT - Uses the A10X SoC

01:45PM EDT - 2x better CPU and 4x better GPU perf than the previous Apple TV

01:45PM EDT - (Which was A8 based)

01:46PM EDT - Store: 4K movies will be priced the same as HD

01:46PM EDT - And free 4K updates to HD movies you own

01:47PM EDT - Adding a bunch of local services to ew countries getting the Apple TV service

01:47PM EDT - Including live sports

01:48PM EDT - Live photos now work on Apple TV as well

01:49PM EDT - Game demo time

01:50PM EDT - Sounds like the name of the game is "Sky"

01:50PM EDT - Using Metal 2

01:52PM EDT - Recapping AppleTV news

01:52PM EDT - 4K, HDR, new software

01:52PM EDT - Ships September 22nd

01:53PM EDT - Next up: iPhone

01:54PM EDT - Pricing starts at $179 for the 32GB Apple TV 4K

01:54PM EDT - Tim is recapping the history of the iPhone and Apple;s various innovations

01:55PM EDT - Multi-touch, Siri, TouchID, & more

01:56PM EDT - "Now we can create devices [..] far more personal than ever before"

01:56PM EDT - Rolling a video

01:56PM EDT - iPhone 8

01:57PM EDT - Now on stage: Phil

01:57PM EDT - iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus

01:57PM EDT - Front & back glass

01:58PM EDT - "Most durable glass ever in a smart phone"

01:58PM EDT - 4.7" and 5.5" respectively. Retina HD displays

01:58PM EDT - Also gets True Tone from the iPad

01:58PM EDT - New, louder stereo speakers

01:59PM EDT - A11 Bionic SoC

01:59PM EDT - High perf cores are 25% faster

02:00PM EDT - Apple GPU!

02:00PM EDT - 3 cores, 30% faster than A10

02:01PM EDT - 12MP camera sensor

02:01PM EDT - New sensor with "deeper" pixels and a new color filters

02:02PM EDT - 8 Plus is f 1.8 and f 2.8 for its respective dual camera modules

02:02PM EDT - Photo demos now

02:04PM EDT - Discussing new software features to come later on

02:04PM EDT - Contour lighting effect, by mapping the face and then chaning the light on it

02:05PM EDT - New video capture features as well

02:06PM EDT - Discussing a bit how Apple's encoder works

02:06PM EDT - 4K @ 60fps recording

02:06PM EDT - 1080p @ 240fps slow-mo

02:07PM EDT - Now discussing augmented reality

02:07PM EDT - Calibrating cameras for AR at the factory

02:07PM EDT - Quick AR demos

02:09PM EDT - Full demo time

02:09PM EDT - Atli Mar with Directive Games

02:09PM EDT - AR competitive multiplayer game

02:12PM EDT - Back to specs

02:12PM EDT - "The future is wireless"

02:12PM EDT - LTE-Advanced, BT 5.0

02:12PM EDT - Wireless charging

02:13PM EDT - Supporting Qi wireless standard

02:14PM EDT - All Qi certified chargers should work with the iPhone 8

02:14PM EDT - Apple will be carrying 3rd party chargers in their stores

02:15PM EDT - Phones start at 64GB. $699 for the 8, $799 for the 8 Plus

02:16PM EDT - "One mor thing"

02:16PM EDT - (i.e. iPhone X)

02:17PM EDT - "The future of the smartphone"

02:18PM EDT - iPhone X (pronounced "Ten")

02:19PM EDT - Front and black glass, the front is almost entrely screen

02:19PM EDT - Water and dust resistant. 2 colors: space grey and silver

02:19PM EDT - All-new Super Retina Display

02:20PM EDT - 5.8 inches, 2436x1125

02:20PM EDT - HDR Display

02:21PM EDT - Dolby Vision and HDR10 support

02:21PM EDT - It will be interesting to see what the practical contrast ratio is and how bright it can really get

02:21PM EDT - No home button

02:22PM EDT - Swipe up to go home

02:22PM EDT - (ed: whatever happened to clicking your heels?)

02:22PM EDT - Multi-tasking uses the same gesture

02:23PM EDT - Side button can be used to trigger Siri (assuming you aren't doing voice activation)

02:23PM EDT - What replaces TouchID?

02:23PM EDT - Facial recognition

02:23PM EDT - FaceID

02:25PM EDT - Discussing how the camera works, with IR cameras and a dot projector

02:25PM EDT - Map your face, make sure it matches

02:25PM EDT - Using neural network processing to do it efficiently

02:25PM EDT - Apple's first-ever neural engine

02:25PM EDT - Inside A11

02:26PM EDT - Dual core. 600 GigaOps per second

02:27PM EDT - Can adapt to minor changes, such as beards and glasses

02:28PM EDT - All processing is done locally. Can only unlock if the user looks at the phone

02:28PM EDT - 1 in a million odds of a false positive

02:29PM EDT - Apple notes that twins are a closer match

02:29PM EDT - Which is interesting, since twins have similar faces, but different fingerprints

02:29PM EDT - FaceID can be used with apps

02:30PM EDT - Works with Apple Pay as well

02:30PM EDT - Animoji

02:30PM EDT - (So far the rumors have been spot on, BTW)

02:31PM EDT - IPhone X demo time

02:34PM EDT - Demoing unlocking

02:35PM EDT - Moving at a mile a minute here

02:35PM EDT - Snapchat support for face mapping

02:38PM EDT - Demo over

02:38PM EDT - Now talking about the X's cameras

02:39PM EDT - Only X gets OIS on both cameras

02:40PM EDT - Tuned for AR as well

02:40PM EDT - Still need clarification on whether the rear camera sensors are the same as on the 8

02:41PM EDT - Confirmed to use the same A11 SoC

02:42PM EDT - Battery life has been increased. 2 more hours than the iPhone 7

02:42PM EDT - Wireless charging supported as well

02:43PM EDT - Now for a sneak peek at something

02:43PM EDT - Apple charging mat

02:44PM EDT - Works with the iPhone, Apple Watch Series 3, and a new Air Pods case

02:44PM EDT - AirPower

02:44PM EDT - Working with the Qi consortium on this

02:44PM EDT - Available next year

02:45PM EDT - Now rolling a promo video

02:46PM EDT - Apple has needed to make pretty much all of the compromises we expected for this design

02:46PM EDT - No touchID, fewer buttons, more gestures required

02:48PM EDT - Otherwise, obviously not the first phone that's (almost) all screen on the front, but a feature that analysts have been demanding for years

02:49PM EDT - $999, 64GB, shipping November 3rd

02:49PM EDT - A 256GB SKU is also available, price unlisted

02:50PM EDT - But get ready to raid the kids' college savings accounts

02:50PM EDT - iPhone 6s and iPhone 7 will be sticking around

02:50PM EDT - As does the SE

02:51PM EDT - $549, $449, and $349 respectively

02:51PM EDT - Now recapping today;'s announcements

02:53PM EDT - A $1000 base price for Apple's flagship phone is definitely pushing matters. It will be interesting to see how consumers respond

02:53PM EDT - Tim is now thanking everyone from Apple

02:54PM EDT - That's a wrap. Off to hands-on demos